I just woke up and that’s one of the headlines on SportsCenter. I’m a little surprised, but completely shocked. I’ve followed this team for almost 11 years now and this is a pretty rare situation. Unlike most of the Mavs fans I’ve been around, I’ll be the first to say that I was the biggest Odom supporter when he was traded to Dallas. I felt like his game would help us a lot and really make us a dangerous team in the West.

However, I remember going to a game back in March against the Wizards and it was my first time hearing boos and harsh comments from the fans whenever he came in the game or missed a shot.

The opinion I had was that maybe the ball just wasn’t going in. He was missing open shots and it looked like Lamar lost all confidence in his game. Though his play was terrible, I still thought he would come around eventually and start to get things going in the last month of the season.

After showing up late to an eventual home loss to Portland on Friday, I think that was the last straw. (He and his wife Khloe live right across the street at The W Hotel, I’ve seen it.) Odom only played 4 minutes the next night against the Grizzlies.

Afterwards, both Coach Rick Carlisle and the typically media-accessible Dirk Nowitzki expressed how they felt about the situation.

“No Lamar questions tonight,” Carlisle said.

Dirk refused to answer when asked about Lamar: “I’m done talking about that.”

So, now I look at it this way. If a guy hasn’t shown any commitment to the team and it becomes clear that he’s not willing to go to battle with the guys in the locker room and play hard, then you have to cut ties.

Overall, it’s a calculated risk we’re taking but also a shrewd business move. Don’t release him, make him inactive. That ensures he can’t just clear waivers and go back to the Lakers or Clippers; two teams that are ahead of the Mavs in the standings.

It sucks that he couldn’t help us, but if it’s dragging the team down when they’re trying to fight for a playoff spot and defend their championship, you gotta cut your losses and start fresh. Hopefully, with 9 games to go, it isn’t too late.